An anti-immigration protest involving hundreds of demonstrators turned violent in The Hague on Saturday, September 20th, as right-wing protesters clashed with riot police. Protesters set a car on fire, threw stones and bottles at police officers, and vandalised the office of the center-left D66 political party. The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Many of the demonstrators were dressed in black, linked to Dutch nationalist and far-right groups.
The protest, dubbed ‘Elsfest’ by the organisers, was called in response to a social media post by a young woman known online as ‘Els Rechts’ (‘Els Right’), demanding stricter asylum laws and an end to mass immigration.
The demonstration comes just weeks ahead of the Dutch general election on October 29th, following the collapse of the ruling coalition over disagreements on migration policy. The collapse occurred after Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing Freedom Party (PVV), withdrew his ministers from the government.
Wilders, who had declined an invitation to speak at the rally, later condemned the violence as “unacceptable.”
